Opposition protests
October 10, 2011
Several thousand members of Bangladesh's opposition alliance have been seen following Khaleda Zia on Monday as she led a procession of cars towards Sylhet, 300 kilometers from Dhaka.
The opposition plans marches to Rajshahi in the northwest and to the southeastern city of Chittagong this month. Members of the opposition alliance, the Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami and the Bangladesh Jatiya Party are also organizing rallies to support the cause.
Zia, chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), announced the march on September 22 to protest the scrapping of a constitutional provision which imposes a neutral non-party caretaker government to overlook the country's administration during the elections.
Fear of misconduct
Hasina's party, the Awami League leads the coalition at the center. Although the government has repeatedly emphasized that it would strengthen the election commission and ensure a credible electoral process, the BNP along with several other parties have been protesting the move from the beginning.
Last month at a rally in the capital, Dhaka, Zia said her party feared the elections in 2014 would be rigged if the polls were held under a political administration. "We will not take part in elections under any party government. Restoration of the caretaker administration is a must for holding a free and fair election," she argued.
The caretaker system has already monitored three elections in the past. On June 30 this year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government scrapped the caretaker provision through an amendment to the country's constitution.
Agencies : dpa, AP (mg)
Editor: Grahame Lucas